Click here to read a copy of the ACTO Bylaws, updated November 2009.
ACTO Officers
President: Patrick Williams, Institute for Life Coach Training (term expires May 2010)
Vice-President: Laura Atwood, Adler (term expires May 2011)
Secretary: Chris Wahl, Georgetown University (term expires May 2010)
Treasurer: Amoráh Ross, inviteCHANGE (term expires May 2010) and President-Elect (term begins May 2010)
ACTO Board of Directors
Kay Zurn, Results Coaching (term expires May 2011)
Pamela Richarde, CoachU and Corporate CoachU (term expires May 2011)
Cynthia Loy Darst, Center for Right Relationship (term expires May 2011)
Peter Reding, Coach for Life (term expires May 2010)
Beth Ann Suggs, Academy for Coaching Excellence (term expires May 2011)
Helene Aubry Denton, IDC - Institut de Coaching (term expires May 2011)
Sabrina Roblin, CTI (term expires May 2010)
Jeff Auerbach, College of Executive Coaching (term expires May 2010)
Patrick Williams , Institute for Life Coach Training (term expires May 2010)
Laura Atwood, Adler (term expires May 2011)
Chris Wahl, Georgetown University (term expires 2010)
Amoráh Ross, inviteCHANGE (term expires 2010) and President-Elect (term begins May 2010)
A Message from our
President...
Greetings ACTO members and other providers of coach training:
Our Association of Coach Training Organizations welcomes all representatives of coach training organizations and educational institutions offer coach specific training and education.
Please join us in the dialogue to share ideas , strategies, and best practices which are enhancing the quality , and the impact of coach training and education. We have members from all over the world and if you would like to join us, please email laura@acto1.com to receive information about membership, upcoming programs and our 2009 conference to be held in Orlando, Florida. Join us to continually improve and enhance our mutual training and to share ideas on best practices.
In Service
Patrick Williams, EdD,
Master Certified Coach (MCC)
CEO, Institute for Life Coach Training
President, ACTO
Article for consideration:
The Importance of Coach Training and Certification
I am both thrilled to have discovered the profession of coaching and also proud to me one of the pioneers in creating coach specific training for adult learners with graduate degrees , and/or experience as professionals in human service capacities.
To call myself a professional requires that I identify with a profession, its knowledge base and usually an organization (or several) who help give the profession a community, an association of members, and a place where ethics and standards are described and developed. I was an original charter member of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and helped in the early days create the definitions, distinctions, and standards of certification. These have evolved quickly and with global input and debate and they are currently undergoing a deep scrutiny which now includes over 15 years of experience, certifications and assessments, development of competencies and now academic research that both corroborates the standards of the profession or points the way to change.
I also am an early member of the International Association of Coaching (IAC) although I have chosen not to be certified by them. I do, however, respect their standards and the fact that they embrace excellence in professional coaching. I am also a vice president of the Association of Coaching Psychology in the UK. I want to belong where my community stands for the profession and where I can engage in learning and dialogue to challenge me to always become more masterful.
Given that coaching is not a licensed profession, but attempts to be self regulated by membership in the ICF or IAC, a practitioner does not really have to be certified. And there are many great coaches I know who were coaching before we developed the larger professional body. They are experienced consultants who adopted a coach approach very well to what they do. And they have already built a reputation and a client base. But for coaches new to the profession, I truly believe the path to certification and training with an ICF accredited coach training program (ACTP) is a smart choice.
One of the hallmarks of building a successful practice is credibility. Credibility will be increased for your clients view if you have received quality training, if you belong to an organization with ethics and standards, and if you have the opportunity for continual learning and competency building.
Having just completed watching the 2008 Olympics over the past two weeks, I am constantly impressed with the mastery these athletes show. They don’t just learn their sport and practice a little bit, They are in the gym, the pool, the weight room, the track for 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. They are all already great,….but they want to be gold medal winners. They constantly learn new skills, nuances of things they can do better. That is what coaching is like. I am one of the first 24 master certified coaches (MCC) in the world and that came because of my early training and thousands of coaching hours since 1990. But I do not really like the term Master.. I am not a master…I am striving toward mastery. And that always can be improved. We may not be perfect, but there is always room for perfection.
I. ACTO Purpose
Statements - (As approved by the 8 Founding Schools - June 3, 2002)
ACTO exists to be stewards of high quality coach training now and in the
future. As stewards we continue to explore, challenge and evolve the
meaning and principles of quality coaching training.
We support and align with the definition, ethics and competencies as
espoused by the ICF as a base line foundation for Coaching training.
We invite everyone who is dedicated to following and advocating high
quality teaching standards in the coaching profession to be a part of ACTO.
As an independent member organization, our members include coach training
school representatives, individual professional coaches and other
professionals who desire to further the credibility and impact of the
coaching profession throughout the world.
Our vision is to offer members the opportunity to share and explore
opinions, thoughts and ideas on evolving topics related to coaching and
coach training. Each member can choose for them self how active a role
they have in the organization. A member can be a financial supporter and
first hand observer of the evolution of the coaching profession or they
can be very active by being engaged in one or more of the following:
researching, writing articles, public speaking, advanced training
workshops, organizing member forum, helping to advance the understanding,
definition, competencies, ethics and applications of coaching and the best
practices on how to train them.
A representative of each of the first eight Coach Training Schools that
earned ICF's Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP) designation
constitutes the founding governing body of ACTO. The governing body is
responsible for articulating the organization's vision, mission and
policies. This body is also responsible for approving and implementing
membership programs, offerings and administration.
II. ACTO Vision
The impact of coaching training has permeated the domains of personal
development, human relationships, education, and organizations throughout
the world. This transformation includes greater awareness, aliveness,
creativity, innovation, caring, collaboration, and stewardship.
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Click here
to view photos from the 2006 ACTO/ICF reception.
ACTO announces its sixth annual conference
for coach training leaders, click here to read testimonials..
Click here to view the transcription from
the 2004 ICF Pre-Con Event, 'Being Stewards for the Soul of Coaching (a
Senior Coach Café)' hosted by ACTO!
I am always ready
to learn, although I do not always like being taught.
-Winston Churchill
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